Genealogist unravels mystery of 1800s ring

KITTERY, Maine — A professional genealogist from Utah has helped find the rightful heirs to a 1800s gold ring found buried in the sands of a local beach in what he is calling an "almost unheard of" turn of events.

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By Joey Cresta

seacoastonline.com

By Joey Cresta

Posted Jun. 23, 2011 at 2:00 AM

By Joey Cresta

Posted Jun. 23, 2011 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

KITTERY, Maine — A professional genealogist from Utah has helped find the rightful heirs to a 1800s gold ring found buried in the sands of a local beach in what he is calling an "almost unheard of" turn of events.

The descendants live as far away as Virginia and North Carolina, but in a striking coincidence, they happen to be in New Hampshire this week for a family member's funeral.

Danny Hall, "The Gentleman Genealogist" from Salt Lake City, Utah, heard the "unique" story of the engraved ring, as told in recent stories in the Portsmouth Herald.

"I've never seen anything close to this before," said Hall, who specializes in solving family mysteries and reuniting relatives. "This is almost unheard of."

Hall helped fill in the final pieces of a puzzle that started to take shape after Berwick resident Carrie Arsenault found the ring on a beach near the Lady Pepperrell House on Route 103 several weeks ago. The only clue to the ring's origins was an inscription inside the band that read, "CCD to MAL Dec. 25, 1880." Kittery marriage records showed residents Charles C. Dixon and Maranda A. Lewis were married on May 12, 1881.

Hall helped track down three living descendants of Dixon and Lewis: Ken MacKinnon of Virginia Beach, Va.; Jean Marlow of East Bend, N.C.; and Robert MacKinnon on Sandown, N.H.

"I think it's fascinating that someone cared enough to research it," Marlow said in a phone interview with the Herald. "I couldn't believe the coincidence that we were here at the time. There must be a reason behind it."

Marlow and her half-brother, Ken MacKinnon, are in New Hampshire this week to attend services in memory of MacKinnon's twin sister, Carol A. MacKinnon. A lifelong Derry resident, Carol died Feb. 16 at age 74.

Multiple readers sent her obituary to the Herald after an article on June 17 described how amateur genealogist Scott Drummey of Dover, N.H., had found that Dixon and Lewis had a daughter, Maude, and two grandchildren, named Doris and Marion.

Doris, who was 26 when she became the second wife of Leon MacKinnon on Sept. 30, 1934, is the mother of the twins Carol and Ken.

Hall provided the Herald with a research calendar showing how he found the descendants using birth, marriage and death records from New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Asked how sure he is of the accuracy of his research, he said, "absolutely positive."

Other aspects of the story also came into focus in recent days. Portsmouth Herald reader Eric Christian, of Eliot Historical Society, found Charles Dixon's obituary in the Aug. 29, 1927, Portsmouth Herald. It states he died suddenly in a home at 9 Otis Ave., that he was a boat builder at the Navy yard for 29 years and a member of the Portsmouth Lodge of Elks.

Maranda A. Lewis's story ends tragically. Drummey said Census records from 1900, 1910 and 1920 all list her as a patient at what was known then as Augusta State Hospital's mental health institute. Those records refer to her as Amanda, as does her obituary from the June 23, 1941 Portsmouth Herald. The obituary states Amanda Dixon, formerly of Kittery, and widow of Charles C. Dixon, died in Augusta.

Drummey said it is highly likely she went by her middle name throughout her life.

What remains a mystery is how her ring wound up buried in the sands of a private beach. Regardless, the ring could soon be back in her family's possession.

Members of the family expressed an interest in seeing it, and Arsenault, who still has it in her possession, said she would oblige.

"I'll be involved if they want to meet, and I can hand over the ring," she said. "If it was in my family, I'd definitely want it back."